Anotherlightup

Anotherlightup

#ANOTHERLIGHTUP by Design Indaba Trust, Faith47 and Thingking is an experimental social impact project combining public art with the potential of crowd-funding to build streetlights in Khayelitsha.

The #ANOTHERLIGHTUP project successfully funded the installation of a streetlight system into one of Cape Town’s more dangerous neighbourhoods, empowering individuals with the potential to be active agents in change.

Design Indaba Trust, Faith47 and Thingking teamed up to create a mural to bring about a community level change through the duality of art-based social impact.

The multi-storey artwork had a visual feedback loop to communicate with viewers. At night the wall would light up each time enough money was raised for one new light to be installed on a pathway in the informal settlement of Monwabisi Park, Khayelitsha. This was actioned in collaboration with the organisation VPUU (Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading), already doing work in the area, who were able to earmark an area that needed upliftment and in particular one that needed lighting as a means to decrease crime.

The intricate lighting pattern is an artistic endeavour that also serves as a reminder that there are communities in the city that lack the luxury of light, which is a major public safety concern.